Cognitive psychologists are concerned with internal processes… thinking, understanding, perceiving, desiring. As we seek to lead and effect behavioral change, we often use an inside-out approach, seeking to understand ways to teach, motivate and reward those behaviors. Think of Cognitive Psychology as the Inside-Out approach.

People vary in the way they perceive their environment and are idiosyncratic as far as what is most rewarding and reinforcing. This is where the cognitive approach complements efforts at behavioral change.

I highly recommend Ann Herrmann's The While Brain Business Book, a revision of Ned Herrmann’s classic book from the world of Cognitive Psychology and Personality Theory.

The Whole Brain Business Book elucidates an approach to business effectiveness drawing on understanding of the ways we differ from each other. I understand the context around me in a different way than you do. I appreciate and value reinforcers in my own idiosyncratic way. Some of us are most moved by thoughts of the big picture. Others look first at the details. For some of us, the we make decisions with our emotions out front. Others are focused on the facts. The "whole brain" approach shows us how to make change happen by leveraging individual differences.

Herrmann’s Whole Brain Business book answers questions such as:

1.How does my [style of] thinking affect my performance, and how can I become more of a Whole Brain thinker?

2.How do I use my whole brain to better harness cognitive diversity: to manage, lead, collaborate with, communicate with, align and influence people with different thinking preferences?

3.How can I be more agile, strategic, and effective as a leader in today’s complex world, and what can I learn from how CEO’s think?

4.In an actionable, practical sense, how do I unleash creative and strategic thinking to drive innovation at an individual, team and organizational level?

5.What steps can I take to continue to learn, grow, evolve and develop my thinking?

If you are not familiar with Whole Brain methodology, visit hbdi.com and look for Ned Herrmann's ground-breaking book, The Creative Brain. Click on the book cover below for more information.